AS OF Tuesday 3 August all local and national calls to standard fixed lines and standard Australian mobiles from Telstra payphones will be completely free.

This will come as welcome news to many smaller rural and remote communities who have fought to keep payphones in recent years despite their declining use.

Telstra CEO Andrew Penn said, "Payphones are an iconic part of our community. To make them accessible to everyone, we’re making them free for calls across Australia."

Mr Penn said that more than 11million calls were made on their national payphone network last year, with around 230,000 of these being calls to emergency services such as 000.

"Often in times of crisis, in bushfires and other natural disasters, and for victims of domestic violence, often the payphone is the only lifeline people have and they play a critical role."

Telstra has previously made payphone calls free over the Christmas and New Year period to allow families and loved ones to connect, including the homeless.

There are dozens of payphones in communities across the Western Plains area. Locate your nearest payphone here

The novelty of free phone calls is expected to result in a surge in the use of the payphone booths.

Callers will still need to pay for overseas calls but from 1 October payphones will become completely coinless.